The present invention relates to an optically detectable transmission cable, method for manufacturing the same, and a method for identifying optically detectable cables in a complex cabling system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a transmission cable having a side-emitting optical fiber included in a transparent or translucent cable jacket in order to assist in identifying the transmission cable at any point along its length.
Communication networks typically involve a distribution system in which main transmission lines are routed into a building or office to a distribution point. At the distribution point, several communication lines or cables are split from the main lines and directed into various sublevel systems including wiring closets and patch panels, from which more cables are subsequently routed to individual devices such as telephones, computers, fax machines, etc.
Interconnections at the sublevel systems are also provided in connection with switches and receiver/transmitter units at intervals along a communication line for regenerating, for example, optical signals. These optical/electrical interfaces, in connection with test equipment and monitoring devices, at various sites within the system have large communication panels to which large numbers of communication lines may be connected. A patch panel may consist of several modules each having hundreds of input/output adapters which are connected to numerous communication lines. These communication lines may consist of a bundles of cables with separated ends for making individual connections.
Consequently, in such wiring systems, there are significantly large amounts of cables present. Identification of individual cables becomes problematic in that the cables may be intricately intertwined and/or positioned in inaccessible areas. The connections of these communication lines to and from the panels are often made by technicians, where the technician needs to identify the cable and the adapter to which the cable is to be connected or disconnected. Because of the enormous amount of cables that may be present in such a complex cabling system, a technician may have difficulty finding a particular cable to which an operation is to be performed. Therefore, there exists a need to efficiently identify individual cables of a complex cabling system at any point along the length of an individual cable.
Conventionally, it is well known in the art to provide cables with color coded stripes to assist in identifying individual cables. However, when a sizeable number of cables are present, the number of color-coded cables available may be insufficient. Thus, the color stripes of a complex cabling system are repetitively used, making identification of a particular cable impossible. Additionally, in small enclosed spaces with poor lighting, such as a wiring closet, it is difficult to ascertain one color from another.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to solve the foregoing problems, by providing a cable which is easily identifiable along an entire length, even when the cable is located in the vicinity of numerous other cables, and/or in a poorly lit environment. In order to achieve this object and others, an optically observable cable is provided having a transmission cable and a side-emitting optical fiber disposed on a periphery of the transmission cable and extending along a length of the transmission cable wherein the transmission cable and side-emitting optical fiber are enclosed in at least a partially translucent cable jacket. The optically observable cable is illuminated along its entire length when light is provided at an end of the side-emitting optical fiber, such that the optically observable cable may be detected at any point along its length.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a communication system having a plurality of optically detectable cables including a transmission unit for transmitting communication signals through the plurality of optically detectable cables and a receiving unit for receiving the transmitted communication signals, wherein each of the optically detectable cables includes a conduit for conducting the communication signals, a side-emitting optical fiber, and a cabling jacket housing the conduit and side-emitting optical fiber, wherein the cabling jacket has a translucent portion to allow the side-emitting optical fiber to be observed.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for detecting individual cables amongst a plurality of cables having side-emitting fibers by positioning a light source at an interface housing an end of a cable to be detected, transmitting light from the light source into the interface, and observing light emitted from the side-emitting optical fiber of the cable to be detected.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a cable having a side-emitting optical fiber by pulling a conduit for conducting signals into a cable forming device, pulling a side-emitting optical fiber into the cable forming device along side said conduit for conducting a signal, and extruding a cable jacket onto or around the conduit and side-emitting optical fiber as the conduit and the side-emitting optical fiber are pulled into said cable forming device, wherein at least a portion of said cable jacket is made of a translucent material to allow the side-emitting optical fiber to be observed therethrough.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent as described below in reference to the appended drawings.